HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.a. Vail Yeti - CRC 2017 Event Recap with SurveySurveyed Event Recap: Vail Yeti Hockey Club
Cultural, Recreational & Community Category
June 7th 2017
Vail Yeti Hockey: 2017
Chris Huntington
Phone: 203.770.2918
chuntington@charter.net
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Overall Event Highlights & Successes
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Top Five 2017 Highlights and Successes
•$138 ROI for every dollar invested by the Town of Vail
•Increased Average attendance by 45% from 2016 to 2017
•Doubled our Sponsorship dollars
•Increased Marketing presence and local awareness through increased advertising
and signage.
•Won second MWHL Championship in four years
Attendance Estimate
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This attendance was slightly higher than
anticipated, however, it confirms that our
attendance increases in relation to our marketing
efforts.
We plan to make a positive impact on our
attendance next year by reaching out to more Youth
hockey families through promotions and
interaction, hotel concierges, and increasing our pre
event activation.
Visitor Type
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I actually expected Overnight visitors to be a little lower percentage.
It was a pleasant surprise to see one third of our fan base is overnight visitors.
Overnight visitors is a segment that we need to aggressively target. We can
definitely reach more visitors by marketing to the Concierges and supplying
them with deck cards as well as being visible in the transportation centers and
on Vail App.
Overnight Visitor Profile: Overnight Visitors & Seasonal Residents Only
Only
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We encourage all of our visiting
teams to stay in Vail and in several
cases contribute to their hotel fees.
We do some partnering with a
couple of Vail hotels by marketing
and advertising our games through
their SM to potential overnight
guests.
Overall Visitor Profile
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Our anticipated demographic was 21-40
years old, 50% male/female, 75% Vail Valley
Resident.
Yes we reached our target demographic but
would like to expand our demographic to
attract more kids and families. We saw an
increase in this segment but can do more in
the future.
Will attempt to better integrate our players
into the local hockey community and hold
promotions geared towards kids.
Role/Importance of Event in Intent to Visit Vail
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One of our best marketing tools is social media. It spreads awareness of upcoming
games throughout the Valley and is a big contributor to attracting down Valley residents
to come into Vail for the evening. Another way to increase the number of overnight
visitors is to increase our incentive payments to visiting teams who stay in the Town of
Vail. The more games we play the more we bring in overnight visitors. If we can afford to
play at home every weekend during the winter we can bring in more business.
NPS (Net Promoter Score)/Likelihood to Recommend
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The net promoter score is a little misleading. There were too many average scores from
overnight visitors which lowered the overall score. Perhaps locals are more emotionally
invested in the team and game than overnight guests are. Locals know the players,
anticipate the event for days and then meet their friends for a great time. We have
worked at adding around the edges by adding a live DJ and food options. I believe we can
continue to add to the periphery of the event to build on the “wow factor”.
Estimated Return on Investment (ROI) & Attendee Expenditures
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Our event encouraged spending in Vail with in
game announcements to drive spectators to our
local sponsors.
Our visiting teams usually spend 3-5 days in Vail
going to restaurants, skiing, and purchasing
souvenir items.
Event Strengths & Weaknesses
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The event exceeded our expectations in 2017. We increased our fan base, had
several crowds near capacity, and had many exciting close games. Our biggest
strength is bringing nearly 1000 people into Lionshead on 20 weekend nights
and providing entertainment for the valley. It is fun lively entertainment and it
is “something to do” after skiing or working the lifts and frequenting the bars.
Our event adds to the appeal of living and working in Vail for hockey fans as
well as current and future players.
We can improve with more consistent promotions and interacting more with
fans leading up to game day. More activation required (i.e. making the players
visible prior to games).
2017 was the best year for the event. It has steadily grown year over year. We
expect another bump in growth for 2018. From a hockey standpoint we are
starting to gain recognition on a national level.
Vail Brand Compatibility
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The Vail Yeti event supports the Vail Brand. Competitive Hockey is active,
exciting, “on the edge” event. It fits the personality of our Vail demographic.
The Vail Yeti are two time Mountain West Hockey League Champions. Among
teams from across the nation, our competition includes Breckenridge, Sun
Valley, Jackson Hole and Aspen. In the future I expect Steamboat and Park City
to also have a team in our league. In addition to the MWHL, starting next year
we will be a member of the Black Diamond Hockey League consisting of Sun
Valley, Jackson Hole and Bozeman. The Vail Yeti Hockey Club strives to be the
Premier Mountain Resort Hockey Team.
Brand Positioning:
•Town of Vail: The Premier International Mountain Resort Community
•Vail Mountain: Like nothing on earth
Community Contribution
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The Vail Yeti are Vail’s team and contribute to a sense of community.
The team brings everyone together. There is a sense of pride and
support, especially when we play other mountain resort towns.
We have also seen how young kids look up to the older players. We
are taking a professional approach in being good role models. We
have done fundraising for Pink Vail and individual kids with Cancer. It is
important that we as a team continue take part in community causes
and events.
Topline Marketing Efforts
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3 successful marketing tactics or executions
1) Banners hanging at the entrances to Lionshead and Vail Village and
above Dobson Arena for each week prior to home games. It greatly
improves awareness of our event. We will continue to do this as much as it
is possible.
2) Digital video advertising with the Daily. Digital reaches thousands of
past, current and future guests.
3) Social Media, pocket schedules and posters. This is a great tangible way
that we get our sponsors visibility.
•Please attach complete marketing plan to end of presentation.
Potential for Growth & Sponsorships/Media Exposure
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We can grow our sponsorship and media coverage by including more video and coverage
through local TV and Youtube.
We plan on targeting our existing sponsors: TOV, Garfinkel’s, Bonfire, Evergreen, Altitude,
Bart and Yeti’s and a few other smaller sponsors. We plan on expanding our categories:
Realtor, Insurance, Dentist, Auto, Finance, and more corporations.
We can expand our marketing reach next year through KZYR, TV8 morning show, Vail
Daily, and showing games on Fast Hockey and the local access TV station. Deck Cards in
Hotels and Player program books will increase sponsor exposure and awareness.
Sustainability Efforts
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What measures were taken at your event/program to support the environmentally-
friendly goals of the Town of Vail?
We announce every period: “…remember, when the snow melts, the bottles and cans
are still here. Help keep the mountain and town of Vail clean by recycling. If you love it
here, recycle here!”
What waste reduction methods were used during your event/program? We don’t
really have any waste to speak of. All food and beverage is purchased through the
Arena and none of it leaves the building.
The Town of Vail is committed to the stewardship and protection of our unique mountain environment. In consideration of both
our local and global impacts and opportunities, our environmental vision is to demonstrate and promote: renewable energy,
resource efficiency, ecosystem protection, and community awareness and education.
Event Budget
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* Event producer to attach detailed budget for recap
Item $
Total Event Budget: $107,000
CSE Funds: $10,000
Cash Sponsorship (not CSE): $7,000
In-kind Sponsorship: $4,000
Marketing Budget: $10,000
Profit & Loss: -$21,000
How did you use the CSE funds?
(marketing, operations, staff, venue, etc.)
Marketing and
Operations
Additional Information/Appendix
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2016-17 Vail Yeti Detailed Budget
Ice Rental $20,000 Referees $8,000 Security $5,000
Staff Operations $29,000 Marketing/Ads $10,000 Away Travel $12,000
Visiting team incentives (mostly hotel) $15,000 Equipment and Uniforms $3,000
Miscellaneous Insurance, plane fare, internet $5,000
Total $107,000
Vail Daily Print ads 2-3 times prior to event. Vail Daily Weekly ads
once before each weekend.
Video Sizzle piece for Lionshead Transportation Center and used for
Digital piece in Daily.
3 banners for Lionshead, Vail Village and Dobson entrances.
Posters and 1,000+ Pocket Schedules distributed to local businesses.
Social Media ad purchases every week before games. Posting and
direct marketing to Vail Resorts employees.
KZYR announcements and player interviews.
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Detailed Marketing Plan 2017
Vail Yeti Hockey